When does a government lose its legitimacy?

[Votto]

Iran Protest Death Toll Could Top 30,000: Local Officials

According to two senior officials of the country’s Ministry of Health who spoke with TIME.

time.com

As many as 30,000 people could have been killed in the streets of Iran on Jan. 8 and 9 alone, two senior officials of the country’s Ministry of Health told TIME—indicating a dramatic surge in the death toll. So many people were slaughtered by Iranian security services on that Thursday and Friday, it overwhelmed the state’s capacity to dispose of the dead. Stocks of body bags were exhausted, the officials said, and eighteen-wheel semi-trailers replaced ambulances.

With Iran at war with the world and its own people, at what point does the world say enough?

Clearly, they have no concern about representation.

They are simply the warden imprisoning their own people.

 

[Chuz Life]

So much for the "never again" regretful thoughts that Nations had after the Nazi Holocaust.

 

[Votto]

This is an age old question that the Founding Fathers asked. At what point do we take up arms against our own government?

For the Founding Fathers, a lack of representation was enough for them, alongside oppression through taxation.

Most did not participate in the American Revolution. So, the question begs, was the Revolution legitimate since most did not participate in the said revolution?

 

[Votto]

So much for the "never again" regretful thoughts that Nations had after the Nazi Holocaust.

Hitler was wildly popular among the German people

A good book on this is called Hitler's Beneficiaries.

For you see, Hitler was terrified of the German people rebelling like they did during WW1 due to subpar living conditions, so he made two big pots of money, one for their military and the other for social programs

In fact, Germans had a higher standard of living that any people in the world at that time.

So, was that regime legitimate since they had the support of the majority of German voters?

 

[GLASNOST]

When does a government lose its legitimacy?​

When their term of office expires and they haven't been re-elected. For Zoolinsky he lost his legitimacy on May 2024.

 

[Chuz Life]

This is an age old question that the Founding Fathers asked. At what point do we take up arms against our own government?

For the Founding Fathers, a lack of representation was enough for them, alongside oppression through taxation.

Most did not participate in the American Revolution. So, the question begs, was the Revolution legitimate since most did not participate in the said revolution?

I think seeing the government "max out" with its capacity to dispose of the bodies of dissenters. . . most any country would expect to see some form of a revolutionary push back.

 

[Mack The Finger]

Most did not participate in the American Revolution. So, the question begs, was the Revolution legitimate since most did not participate in the said revolution?

The winner's write the history.

Did you ever hear of a soldier / politician on the winning side charged with a war crime ?

 

[MarcATL]

When they turn fascist.

When all they tell is lies.

When they break the law w/o consequence.

That's how you know a government has lost all legitimacy OP.

 

[Votto]

When they turn fascist.

When all they tell is lies.

When they break the law w/o consequence.

That's how you know a government has lost all legitimacy OP.

I'm guessing that you consider all your political foes to be fascist, including Trump. Am I right? If so, what defines being fascist other than hating them with all your might?

Also, what about when they turn Marxist, especially since Marxists governments last century murdered hundreds of millions more people that fascist ones? Are they legitimate?

All governments tell lies

All governments break the law.

It sounds more like no government has legitimacy, at least according to your definition.

 

[berg80]

In Trump’s Case for War, a Series of False or Unproven Claims​

As they made their public case this week for another American military campaign against Iran, President Trump and his aides asserted that Iran has restarted its nuclear program, has enough available nuclear material to build a bomb within days, and is developing long-range missiles that will soon be capable of hitting the United States.

All three of these claims are either false or unproven.

American and European government officials, international weapons monitoring groups and reports from American intelligence agencies give a far different picture of the urgency of the Iran threat than the one the White House has presented in recent days.

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/02/26/us/politics/trump-iran-claims-nuclear-weapons.html

Nothing the regime says should be accepted without verification.